Minnesota:: Almost 1,000 marijuana plants seized from two homes

A suspicious package intercepted at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport led to a stunning discovery, prosecutors say -- two Eagan homes filled with bright lights, watering systems and a total of nearly 1,000 marijuana plants.

Three men have been charged in the pot-growing operation, which Dakota County Drug Task Force agents described as "impressive" in scope and sophistication.

An attorney for one of the defendants said he plans to challenge the constitutionality of the search that led to the bust.

According to the criminal charges, the Eagan homes belonged to Quang Khai Thai, 32, and Huy Vu Le, 29. Both were charged Sept. 27 in Dakota County District Court with third-degree drug sale felonies.

Huy Le also was charged with a fifth-degree sale felony.

Hoang Vu Le, 42, also of Eagan, was in Huy Le's home during the bust and also is charged with third- and fifth-degree drug sales.

According to the charges:

Airport police first contacted the Dakota County Drug Task Force in July after drug-sniffing dogs took interest in a package bound for a nail salon in Eagan.

The home appeared to have been remodeled specifically to accommodate the operation, the complaint said.

Agents recovered a total of 388 marijuana plants from the home, according to the complaint.

Huy Le and Hoang Le were arrested in the home, and Thai was arrested outside when he arrived shortly after the raid began.

On the same day, the drug task force raided Thai's residence, finding a similar operation and seizing another 583 plants.

"The entire house seemed to be set up for the sole purpose of cultivating marijuana," the complaint said -- down to an illegal tap of the power line to keep the electricity needed for the operation off the meter.

In all, 971 plants were seized between the two homes. It's hard to put a value on them because they were in various stages of growth, said Sgt. Dan Bianconi of the drug task force, but they appeared to be high-quality.

Each plant eventually could yield about 4 ounces to a pound of marijuana, Bianconi said. Based on those figures, the operation could have produced at least 240 pounds of the drug at the low end -- and could have shattered the county's record bust with a larger yield.

The drug task force is investigating the two homes as part of the same growing operation, he said. Based on the extensive infrastructure, he believes they were in business for at least a year.

"There was a great deal of effort put into developing this," Bianconi said. "It was set up like a business."

The investigation is ongoing. Bianconi said the growing operation wasn't on the drug task force's radar before the package turned up at the airport.

Rob Shane, Huy Le's attorney, said that he still hadn't seen the prosecution's evidence but that he plans to challenge the search and move to get the more serious drug sale charge dropped.

"We believe there are problems with the probable cause for the search warrant," Shane said.

Thai's attorney, Lauri Traub, said she also hadn't seen the details of the case.

Hoang Le does not yet have an attorney on record.

Huy Le is free on $50,000 bail. Hoang Le is out on $15,000 bail, and Thai was released without bail.